1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to equipment for filling ruts and tracks and more specifically to ruts and tracks formed in soil by wheels of self powered, linear and center pivot agricultural irrigation systems.
2. Related Art
Manifold problems result from the ruts and tracks developed by wheels used in agricultural applications. Of specific concern is the long existing problem in farming operations of the tracks and ruts caused by, for example, the wheels of center pivot sprinkler irrigation systems. The weight supported by these wheels and the multiple passes each makes over the same track cause soil to be displaced to each side of the wheel thus forming deep tracks and ruts.
Such ruts and tracks are particularly disruptive to agricultural operations where they exist in areas that must be trafficked by other farm or ranch equipment, e.g. trucks and tractors. In addition to slowing field operations and potentially damaging running gear and suspension systems, ruts and tracks will collect rain and irrigation water to further impede equipment transport in the field. In agricultural fields that are not regularly tilled, the ruts and tracks will continually deepen over time and may even impair the operation of the irrigation equipment itself. Prior methods of restoring the irrigated field to a smooth and level condition required manual labor with shovels or the use of power driven equipment such as a scraper, grader, bulldozer or the like, all a slow and costly operation.
Because of the widespread extent of this problem, inventors have been particularly active its resolution. As will be reviewed in the following, all identified patent activity has centered around moving soil back into the rut or track by the use of disks, tillers or augers. These devices are either mounted directly on the irrigation device, attached to or pulled behind a farm tractor, or in some cases they are self-propelled. Some of these devices also include a means to compact or smooth the replaced soil.
Bean (U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,911), Goebel (U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,388), Corsentino (U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,068) and Parish (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,262,752 and 4,601,347) describe devices that are integral with the irrigation apparatus. Although differing in substantial and important details, each inventor provides a pair of cooperating adjustable disks mounted adjacent to the wheels of an irrigation system. These disks engage the laterally displaced soil mounds on either side of the wheels and returns the soil to the region of the wheel track. Such systems offer the advantage of immediate and automatic restoration of the soil while the irrigation system is in operation. However, they add significant additional operational complexity to the irrigation apparatus and should they fail, the critical irrigation process could be jeopardized.
Tanner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,334) and McCullough (U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,529), describe self-propelled devices. Tanner provides a machine for smoothing ruts comprising a pair of powered rotary tillers. The tillers are rotated toward each other on either side of the rut. The rotating tillers move the displaced soil back into the region of the rut. A guide shoe between the tillers is provided to maintain the tillers in the proper working position. McCullough provides a frame having an engine, drive wheels and a powered auger to fill a trench. McCullough's invention is applied to the installation of residential sprinkler systems.
Several disclosures present devices for closing (filling) wheel tracks and ruts using equipment attached to or towed by a farm tractor. These devices incorporate either a convention disk, tilling devices and rotating augers. For example Gillespie (U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,717) describes a device mounted on a tractor comprising two sets of rotary disks. One set mounted in front of the front wheels of a tractor returns soil from one side of the track. The second set of disks placed behind the front wheels moves soil from the other side of the track. The rear wheels of the tractor are used to compact the returned soil over the track area. Warner (U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,997) presents a track eraser that is pulled behind a tractor. The eraser elements are like the tongs of a rake with penetration into the soil determined by the weight of the assembly supporting the rake elements. Brown (U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,867) horizontally mounts a pair of counter-rotating augers on the front of a tractor. The augers straddle the track path and when actuated move the displaced soil to cover the track. Deken (U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,728) describes a backfilling and tamping device for trenches that also includes rotating augers to return soil to the trench. This device is mounted integrally with the trenching and tamping equipment.
Although the above described inventions have significantly advanced the art of returning soil displaced from wheel tracks, trenches and the like, they incorporate either complex and potentially hazardous rotary power equipment (e.g. augers and rotary tillers) or are disks which are difficult to control and may not be as effective as the task requires. Other devices are attached directly to the source of the wheel tracks (e.g. irrigation sprinkler systems) thus potentially limiting their effectiveness and reducing reliability.
The apparatus disclosed herein offers substantial improvements over the prior art by the incorporation of a novel soil moving concept and implementing apparatus. Thus it is an object of this invention to provide apparatus for efficiently, effectively and safely restoring soil to a smooth condition after it has suffered tracking and rutting from repeated passage of wheels, particularly wheels as incorporated in linear and center pivot sprinkler irrigation systems. It is a further object of this invention to provide a variety of easily controlled means to optimize the performance of the equipment based on the soil and terrain conditions encountered during the restoration operation. It is yet another object of this invention to provide an apparatus that is inexpensive to fabricate yet is operationally durable and reliable. It is yet another object of this invention to provide a track filling apparatus that is easily and quickly attached to and removed from a conventional farm tractor.